Diriyah is the capital of the First Saudi State. It is located in al-Yamama region, in the center of the Arabian Peninsula. In this day and age, this would be west of the capital, Riyadh, on the banks of Wadi Hanifah, which was previously known as Wadi al-Ard. Diriyah was one of the most important cities on the ancient trade routes, and a station on the pilgrimage route from Iran, Iraq, and Central Asia to Makkah.
Diriyah was built in 1446 by Prince Mani' ibn Rabi'a al-Muraydi, the twelfth ancestor of the founding King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman al-Saud. The city was named after the al-Doroa (or fortress) tribe. It originally consisted of the two towns of Ghusaybah and al-Mulaybeed, as Ghusaybah was the Prince's center of government. He built a wall around it for protection purposes and made the town of al-Mulaybeeda an agricultural hub.
After Imam Muhammad bin Saud established the First Saudi State, he unified Diriyah and built Turaif, which became the center of government. Moreover, he constructed a wall around the city to counter foreign campaigns.
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